Arrow is proud to introduce our upgraded BOM Management Tool, designed to provide the fastest and most economical way to create and optimize your bill of materials; watch Kristen introduce the highlights.
Hi I’m Kristen with Arrow.com and today I’d like to show you some of the highlights of our new and improved Bill of Materials BOM Tool – used to instantly and simultaneously quote hundreds or even thousands of line items. Beyond giving it a flashy new look and enhancing the user experience, we have added some pretty exciting updates. Existing users, no need to be alarmed the general work flow is the same. For the power buyers, our BOM Tool provides fast results on all key parameters including pricing and availability with the option to add smaller BOMs directly to your cart for purchase online.
From Arrow.com you can access the BOM Tool through the Design Center tab. It is the 4th option listed. Currently the upgraded tool is in BETA form so you can see the old BOM Management tool is still just to the right of it. Eventually that will be removed.
Let’s go ahead and click to launch the tool. You have the option to either upload your BOM file or manually enter the manufacturer part numbers separated by a full return. I’ve got a file ready to go so we will go ahead and import my Excel spreadsheet by just dragging the file anywhere on this screen. It shows you the file name, the tab name in case you have multiple tabs within the chosen spreadsheet, and you can even define the header and data start rows to help the BOM tool correctly grab your parts list. From here I will click on VIEW BOM.
Alright so if you’re familiar with the search functionality of Arrow.com, this interface should look pretty similar to you. First I’ll confirm that yes I had 11 part numbers and that’s how many it found. Now on the left hand side we can see the STATUS of each part. The goal is to have all green checkmarks. So really it’s just a matter of working through the red items. It looks like we have 3 unmatched parts according to the part resolution section at the top. Notice up here you can also sort by Stocking Status or by Manufacturers.
Taking a look at the first part number, lets SELECT AN ALTERNATE. It already found a part number that is a perfect match. Glancing at the description I can confirm that yes I want a PNP transistor. Oh but I had a different manufacturer than what is shown. That is why it didn’t give me an exact match. Okay so I select this and it’s resolved to a green checkmark.
The next few items look good. If I want to check the product details page, I can click on the part number. If the part number needs an edit, just click on the pencil tool. For the third item on the list, notice that because my quantity is 40 pieces, it bolds the 25+ option in the pricing quantity breaks to show me that that is the level my quantity falls under. I can change the quantity here if I want. By dropping the quantity down to 10, notice how in now bolds that price break. Moving further to the right, it shows the amount currently in stock, it tells me the part can ship out today, and there is a symbol to tell me this part comes in cut strips or even by manufacturer packaging. Lastly, if I change my mind, I can discard this line item by selecting the trash bin tool.
Taking a look at the next part with an issue, I find that my exact part number doesn’t exist. This part number is similar but ends in “PF”. By giving you a hint at a similar part, it gives you the opportunity to check if that’s the manufacturer replacement for an obsolete part, or maybe even a potential similar item that will also work for your project if time is a big concern. I’ll go ahead and accept this part for my project. Quickly checking the last part reveals another manufacturer difference. I had Atmel listed but now that they were purchased by Microchip that is the supplier that should be listed for this part number.
Alright, so now we see green checks for all parts on our bill of materials. Heading back up to the top, we can see the estimated total cost. Above that I have the option of Downloading my BOM. If I log in, I can also Duplicate or Delete this BOM. I’m going to select BUY ALL and these items will all be added to my cart for purchase.
Jumping back to the BOM Tool homepage, let’s take a quick look at the option to type in your part numbers. I’ll paste two parts in here to show you want happens if I forget to put them on their own line.
As you can see it recognizes this as one part rather than two. Let’s see if we can resolve this. By clicking on the “select an alternate” option, it shows me that it found those two part numbers individually. So I will go ahead and copy the second part number and then click SELECT for the first part number. Now all we need to do is go up to the right and choose ADD PART TO BOM. I’ll just paste the other part number here and there you have it – the status of both items is a GREEN check box so we’re good to go! I can select BUY ALL and both will be added to my cart for purchase.
And there you have it. This quick overview should get you well on your way to becoming a pro with the new Arrow.com BOM Tool. But, if you ever need assistance, a really cool feature when working in Arrow’s Design Center is the ability to get help from an engineer at any time. If you have questions about the BOM Tool or a specific recommended part number, go back to the Design Center, click on Arrow Engineers, and now you can see all the engineers that are standing by to help via video, call, or IM chat.
Thanks for checking out Arrow’s upgraded BOM Tool. Be sure to stay tuned for additional content regarding updates and new additions to the BOM tool in the near future.